Black Sea Mine-Hunt Deal Set to Secure Ukraine Exports Path
- Formal deal seeks to protect vital Ukrainian grain exports
- Other NATO countries excluded to ensure calmer relations
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Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria joined forces to hunt mines in the Black Sea, a move aimed at improving shipping safety and shoring up vital Ukrainian grain exports to secure funding.
The Istanbul-led initiative is designed to defuse mines drifting into specific areas of the Black Sea as a result of Russia’s near two-year invasion of Ukraine. A secondary motive is to exclude other NATO members from the security effort, including the US and UK, to avoid escalating tensions in the region.